The Butternut Squash Soup Challenge – a 5:2 Diet Recipe

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup – an Easy 5:2 Diet Recipe:

I’m back in the kitchen and cooking again, after what seems like an eternity of travel and meals out. Needless to say I am back on a 5:2 diet fast day so cooking up a new 5:2 diet recipe – although bizarrely I actually managed to lose half a kilo on my trips to France and Portugal. Something of an achievement on a Gastronomy trip – it’s definitely not through lack of food or wine. It might just have something to do with the large quantities of fish we ate in Portugal. Or perhaps it was all that walking around medieval villages and on limestone plateaus in France. Regardless I’m still trying to follow the 5:2 diet and I want to lose another 2 or 3 kilos before November when I am booked in on a BOOTCAMP in Spain. So it’s back to making tasty comforting diet soup recipes for me. Ones that are both healthy and nutritious but hopefully reasonably low in calories.

Squash and pumpkin are in season at the moment. I live alone and for that reason tend to avoid pumpkin – I find even the smallest are just that bit too big for a one-person household. Butternut squash comes in a convenient 1kg size (that’s one smallish squash) and what’s more you can keep them in the fridge or any other cool place for a month or so. They don’t discolour when they are cut, so, you can use as much or as little as you need for a soup and then do something else with the remainder. They are very nutritious, with a 100g serving providing more than twice your daily vitamin A requirement as well as a good dose of vitamin C. But, they are a little off-putting to prepare for the first time.

Last year I went to an event run by Kenwood where they were demonstrating how to make a squash soup a little like this, but since I have long since lost the literature, I’ve improvised my own version. I’ve also been very careful about the quantities of oil and coconut milk because I wanted a low calorie 5:2 diet recipe. And, because I am too mean to buy those nice little pre-prepared portions of squash and too lazy to peel an uncooked squash, I’ve been experimenting with pre-roasting. Not without reading around a bit first, I’ve discovered that Nigella’s recipe doesn’t need any peeling at all, while others expect you to peel before you roast. I must admit in the past I’ve always peeled, but this time I tried following the advice given here and ended up with a pretty good soup, albeit one that needed a little more blending than normal.

Ingredients

500g Butternut Squash (Deseeded and cut into chunks. Peeled if you like)

100g Shallots (Peeled and quartered)

10g Fresh ginger (Peeled and chopped)

2 cloves Garlic (Chopped)

Directions

Step 1

Pre-heat your oven to 200c. Place the squash, garlic and shallots in a roasting tin and sprinkle over the oil. Mix well. Roast for 45 minutes, reducing the heat if the shallot shows signs of caramelising

Step 2

Once the squash is soft, put the content of the roasting tin into a large saucepan and add the coriander stems and ginger. Blitz well, if necessary adding a little water to the mixture

Step 3

Add all the stock to the mixture and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 15-20 minutes.

Step 4

Add the coconut milk and taste. Season with salt and pepper as necessary.

Step 5

Serve with the fresh coriander leaves as a garnish.

I’m rather pleased with this 5:2 diet recipe. It’s very filling and really does have an ‘Autumnal feeling’ to it. The recipe does have a slightly higher calorie count than some of the soups I’ve been making while I’ve been trying to diet. That’s partly because of the butternut squash (45 cals per 100g) and partly because of the half fat coconut milk. If you REALLY wanted to keep this dish low calorie, you could substitute a spoonful of 0% Greek Yoghurt or Quark at the end for the coconut milk. But for the sake of the flavour combination of coriander, coconut and ginger, I think it’s really worth those extra 20 calories. Do remember to look for half fat coconut milk though;).

As suggested I’m adding this recipe to the Simply.Food ‘Lets Cook with’ event – because this month the ingredient is COCONUT. There are lots of wonderful entries there already so if you love coconut, why not pop over and take a look!

Love the pairing of butternut squash and coconut milk!!! I actually made a baked risotto with those flavours not too long ago. I’ll have to try out the soup soon, especially with the fall weather coming!

My husband and I are both following the 5-2 diet with few problems. The key to our success is Japanese Shirataki noodles with virtually NO calories. Our main meals thus some variation of pho, either chicken or fish, and lots of veg. Yummy and filling 🙂

Absolutely amazing recipe! Although i used full coconut cream and did the soup on non-diet days as i was concerned about the calories. My family (husband a real meat eater) loved it so much i made it 2 days in a row…if all vegan foods tasted like this i would be a vegan full time. Truly wonderful, warming and nutritious family favorite diring these cozy autumn months. Thank you!

Dawn of Super Heroes

O2 London - 23rd February 2018 - tickets on sale now!

Following a successful run in Paris, France, 2018 will see the London Premiere of ‘DC Exhibition: Dawn of Super Heroes’, _a unique exhibition presented by with DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Consumer Products in collaboration with Art Ludique-Le Musée. Opening on 23 February at The O2, London, this one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrates DC’s rich history, unique mythology and iconic Super Heroes and Super Villains such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Joker.

Fans visiting ‘DC Exhibition: Dawn of Super Heroes’ will be able to walk through the exhibition, which runs in chronological order, with each room offering guests a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the mythical DC Universe. Featuring artwork of Super Heroes and Super-Villains such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Joker, The Penguin and Mr Freeze, the Exhibition will bring fans closer to the world’s most iconic characters.

This exhibition, accompanied throughout by original soundtracks of the DC films and series, will showcase original drawings of DC’s famous Super Heroes and Super-Villains, as well as iconic scenes and landmarks, from world-renowned artists including Jim Lee, Bob Kane, Neal Adams, Frank Miller, Alex Ross and many more.